The former Prime Minister of Poland, Marek Belka conveys the following message to Albania and its people: “Let me take the opportunity of this interview and express my sympathy and respect for your country and your people and convey my best greetings for many friends that I have in Tirana!”
By Genc Mlloja
Senior Diplomatic Editor
“Poland and Albania have always been friends and partners, now in the NATO, in future in the EU. Economic relations are developing, tourism has been flourishing in recent years. I hope that it will resume soon. One of the possible consequences of the crisis may be a tendency to relocate production from remote parts of the world to the more immediate vicinity. This may be a chance for Albania, too,” has said Polish Professor of Economics Marek Belka.
Although the focus of the interview that Albanian Daily News had with Professor Belka, who served twice as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance in the government of Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz in 1997 and in the government of Leszek Miller from 2001 to 2002 and from May 2004 to October 2005, the Professor served as Prime Minister of Poland, was the multi-dimensional crisis caused by the coronavoris pandemic special space was dedicated to the Albanian-Polish relationship.
Regarding the impact of the coronavirus crisis worldwide the Professor thinks that although Poland is no exception the country has entered the crisis in relatively good shape with strong growth, very low unemployment and low public debt. “Social safety net for the people losing jobs and liquidity assistance for businesses in trouble are among the elements of the proposed package. The positive effects of the proposed package will depend on the capability to implement it in a timely manner,” he said.
But Mr. Belka warns that the longer the lockdown of the economy, the more difficult it will be to restart the economy. As he said three months hibernation is still manageable but six months would be a major disaster.
Answering a question on the scheduled presidential election in Poland the former Prime Minister said that the authorities are going forward against all odds. “But in a time when electoral campaign is dormant, the incumbent becomes a clear favorite. It may thus be a voting act, but it could not be called an election, a democratic choice,” he said.
In a comment on the Polish view of how the EU is handling the crisis, Professor Belka who has held numerous high-ranking positions within the international community among which in 2003 s Chairman of the Council for International Coordination for Iraq and as Director of Economic Policy in the Coalition Provisional Authority (2003-2004), from 2006 to 2008 in the office in the United Nations as Executive Secretary of Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Geneva and in November 2008 as Director of the European Department at the International Monetary Fund, considered this as a testing time for the Union.
“If the countries of the “North” do not show solidarity with the weaker partners hit by Covid particularly strong then we will see further economic divergence, social unrest and ultimately tendencies to breakup of the Union,” warned the former Polish PM for whom this may be the most important moment for the future developments in Europe.
Professor Belka hailed the opening of the EU accession talks for Albania and North Macedonia considering it as great moment not only for the countries, for the Western Balkan region but also for Europe as a whole. But the former Polish Prime Minister saw the decision as a special moment for himself which he explains with the following words: “Also this is a special moment for me personally, as I have spent some time in Albania during the stormy period of late 90’s. Let me congratulate your people and your leaders on this huge achievement.”
In conclusion the former Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka had a message to Albania and its people which is as following:
“Let me take the opportunity of this interview and express my sympathy and respect for your country and your people and convey my best greetings for many friends that I have in Tirana.”
Below the full interview:
– Professor, it is a great pleasure to have you as a guest in this interview with Albanian Daily News at this challenging time for the entire world. As we see it the cause is not a conflict but a novel heinous virus, an invisible enemy of mankind. Do you think that the world, including big powers, have been caught in the middle by coronavirus pandemic and unprepared for coping with health, economic and social implications?
-The world, including the big powers, has been caught unprepared. Many countries are still “licking wounds” from the financial crisis of 2008. So the spectrum of instruments that can be used is limited, for example the monetary stimulus.
-As a follow up, please what can you tell us about the situation in Poland, and how efficient have government’s restrictive measures been?
-Poland is no exception. However we have entered the crisis in relatively good shape: strong growth, very low unemployment and low public debt. The government’s reaction was similar to most other countries.
Social safety net for the people losing jobs and liquidity assistance for businesses in trouble are among the elements of the proposed package. The positive effects of the proposed package will depend on the capability to implement it in a timely manner. So this will be a test for the overall efficiency of the state and the society.
In the meantime, we in Poland cannot avoid a severe recession. The longer the lockdown of the economy, the more difficult it will be to restart the economy. Three months hibernation is still manageable. Six months would be a major disaster.
– Professor, Poland will hold presidential election scheduled for May. How do you assess this political event against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic?
– The authorities intend to go forward will the upcoming presidential election. Against all odds. But in a time when electoral campaign is dormant, the incumbent becomes a clear favorite. It may thus be a voting act, but it could not be called an election, a democratic choice.
Besides, all that the government is doing to fight the epidemic becomes incredible.
The people do not trust the numbers and the plans to unfreeze the economy in the near future are perceived to serve the ultimate political objective – staying in power.
-How does Poland see the difficulties for EU to bridge differences on the way to rebuild their economies after the coronavirus pandemic, and does this situation and its impact add to the divergencies between rich and less rich countries in the Union?
– This is also a testing time for the EU. If the countries of the “North” do not show solidarity with the weaker partners (hit by Covid particularly strong) then we will see further economic divergence, social unrest and ultimately tendencies to breakup of the Union.
EU must become to a certain extend a fiscal union, with some of the debt being mutualized. We shall see in the coming days, weeks, how will the Recovery Fund (on top of the regular EU budget) be built.
This may be the most important moment for the future developments in Europe.
– How do you assess the EU decision of last March to give the green light to the accession talks of Albania and North Macedonia with the Union?
– Opening of the accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia is a great moment not only for your country, for the Western Balkan region but also for Europe as a whole. All problems of the European integration notwithstanding, it shows that Europe remains attractive for others. It is also an evidence of immense progress that Your country has made in the last decades.
-In conclusion, Professor Belka, as a protagonist in the progress of Albanian-Polish relations in different positions among which that of Prime Minister my question is: which are the perspectives of this relationship assessed as an old and traditional bond, and what can be done to turn the friendly feelings between the two people in more extensive cooperation in such fields like economy, trade, business, tourism and people- to- people exchanges?
– Poland and Albania have always been friends and partners, now in the NATO, in future in the EU. Economic relations are developing, tourism has been flourishing in recent years. I hope that it will resume soon.
One of the possible consequences of the crisis may be a tendency to relocate production from remote parts of the world to the more immediate vicinity. This may be a chance for Albania, too.
Let me take the opportunity of this interview and express my sympathy and respect for your country and your people and convey my best greetings for many friends that I have in Tirana.
